"Lawyers for Gov. Kim Reynolds are arguing in court that she was too busy to respond quickly to public-records requests this year due to the pandemic, and that her decision-making process is shielded from disclosure by executive privilege.
"The governor's office has made those arguments in recent weeks as part of an effort to dispose of two lawsuits alleging she and her staff have violated the Iowa Open Records Law.
"In addition to asserting executive privilege, the governor's office is arguing that the lawsuits, filed in Polk County District Court, have been rendered moot because the documents requested of her office were disclosed five months later once the lawsuits were filed.
"Lawyers for the plaintiff argue that delay constitutes a violation of the Iowa Open Records Law for which the governor must be held accountable.
"'Just as a thief does not moot his case by returning the stolen property, a violator who refuses to produce public records in a timely fashion cannot moot a lawsuit by producing the records on the eve of trial,' the plaintiff's lawyers argue in a brief filed with the court."
Sadly, in Kentucky, 40 KAR 1:030 Section (6) — stating, "If the requested documents are made available to the complaining party after a complaint is made, the Attorney General shall decline to issue a decision in the matter" — makes this argument just as plausible but less legally persuasive.
